Weetabix is spending an extra £1.65m on marketing this year as consumers predominantly stuck at home opt to buy more cereal.
The increase has pushed up its annual spend by 15% from a budgeted £11m, and means its brand investment in 2020 is now up 30% year on year.
The brand pointed out Kantar data that shows that sales of cereals rose 11% between April and July.
Weetabix is the UK's best-selling breakfast cereal. Its sales last year were worth £144.5m, according to Nielsen data covering the 12 months to August 2019.
"It's been an incredibly uncertain time for consumers of late and when it comes to food at home, we've seen shoppers look to the comfort and reassurance that big, familiar food brands like Weetabix can bring – shown with cereals brand-value sales currently growing 70% faster than private label," Francesca Theokli, marketing director at Weetabix Food Company, said.
"We planned in 2020 to invest a record £11m on advertising, however, as a result of accelerating consumer demand, we're further increasing this investment by 15% in the next few months in order to continue to inspire the nation to have their Weetabix."
As a result, Weetabix is launching a refreshed "Any-which-way-a-bix" ad by Bartle Bogle Hegarty during August and September, alongside a recipe book that features 24 ways people can serve up the cereal throughout the day.
The recipes were created as part of an earlier campaign that asked fans to share their favourite ways to use Weetabix for a chance to win £10,000. There are also recipes from brand partners Whitworths and Rowse Honey.
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